Initial Process
When determining accommodations, there are some key factors that should be considered:
- Is the person requesting the accommodation disabled? Do they have a diagnosis or condition that may rise to the level of disability?
- Does a barrier exist for this person?
- Can the barrier be removed proactively by changing the design of the course, assignment, exam, etc.?
- Does the requested accommodation effectively remove the barrier without altering the fundamental nature of the course or assignment?
- If the requested accommodation would result in reducing rigor or altering what is essential to the course or activity, are there alternative accommodations that will provide access without a fundamental alteration?
Guiding Principles
- To the extent possible, access should be seamless.
- Focusing solely on accommodation provision and not working proactively to improve access maintains the status quo.
- As a result, disabled students are required to go through additional steps to obtain access.
- An important goal for our offices is for disabled students to have an experience that as similar to that of nondisabled students as possible.
- Access should be effective, timely and integrated.
- Access should be provided in a timely manner.
- Access should be provided in the most integrated way possible.
- Accommodations should effectively remove the barriers that disabled students experience.
- Students should be told that they can and how to let the DRP know if an accommodation is not effective.
- Communication with disabled people should be equally effective to communication with nondisabled people.
- Services or technology should be provided to provide communication access when needed to achieve equally effective communication.
- The student’s preferred communication should be given primary consideration.
- Accommodations provide opportunity for access, not a guarantee of success.
- Disabled students should have the same opportunities as nondisabled students—not more opportunity.
- Disabled students should not be overburdened by the accommodation process.
- Information about campus accessibility and the process of requesting accommodations should be easy to find.
- The process for requesting and implementing accommodations should require as few steps and be as straightforward as possible.
- Examples of unnecessary burdens:
- Requiring students to have a certain number of meetings with the disability resource office just because it is policy
- Requiring students to meet with professors when that is not necessary for the implementation of an accommodation
- Requiring third-party documentation even when the disability and barrier are apparent
- Access for disabled students extends to all of the benefits that students in general enjoy—both academic and co-curricular.
- This includes, among other things, social events, internships, and athletic activities.
- Access should not hinge on a student’s ability to negotiate with a professor or other personnel.
- A student should not have to ask an instructor for permission to use an accommodation.
- If the accommodation has been approved and the student opts to use it, it should be implemented.
- Even those students not skilled in self-advocacy deserve equal access.
- If the professor has concerns that an accommodation is not necessary due to the design of the course or that it would result in a fundamental alteration, they should discuss this with the DRP.
- Accommodation requests should never be dismissed without a process that involves thoughtful consideration and an opportunity for the student to provide more information.
- Provision of accommodations and access is not a formulaic process, but requires individual consideration.
- Students should not automatically receive certain accommodations and be denied others based solely on their condition.
- The DRP or institutions should not determine proactively that a specific accommodation is never provided.
- Each request must be individually analyzed in context if considering denial to determine whether it would:
- Fundamentally alter the class, requirement(s), or program
- Give the student an unfair advantage (exceeding equal access)
- Result in undue financial or administrative burden
- Where possible, the student’s choice of accommodation should be provided.
- If the chosen communication presents an undue burden or fundamental alteration, other accommodations should be considered that are effective at removing the barrier.
- Accommodation determinations should be made based on the present situation, not an imagined future scenario.
- Accommodations should not be denied because it is assumed a student will not be able to meet future requirements.
- Accommodations should not be denied because it is assumed that that accommodation will not be available in the workplace.
- The cost of accommodations should never be passed along to a student.
- A clear process that informs what to do if the student disagrees with a decision should be outlined and easy for students to find.
- Students should have access to information about the internal process as well as external resources for grieving a decision.
- Students should have access to information about the internal process as well as external resources for grieving a decision.
Last revised on: December 2, 2024